Download March 2012 Newsletter - John Pellitteri, Psy.D.

PSYCHOLOGY NEWS
Dr. John Pellitteri
March, 2012
Volume 2, Issue 3
Treasure Health!
I feel like I’ve been run over by a bull. I finally caught that terrible stomach flu (or perhaps
the black plague) that everyone has been getting, and it slammed me into the hospital for
fluids and medicine. Thanks to Lady Vicodin,
I’ve started to finally come out of it. In one of
my delirious drug-induced comas, a thought
popped into my head, that I need to treasure
my health when I have it.
Do you enjoy things this much?
When I was in college, I got a scratch on my
retina. Man, that was painful; it gave me
headaches and I couldn’t see—everyday was a
journey through pain until it healed. I sometimes remember that, and think to myself,
“everyday I don’t have an eye infection is a
good day.” No matter what stressful things I
have to do, it’s easier without an eye infection.
The Pellitteris have a saying, “Things can always get worse.” I don’t see this as a cynical
Table of Contents
Page 1……………..Welcome!
saying; I see it as a recognition that things
Page 2……………..Training and Me
aren’t that bad. It’s a way to look on the
Page 3……………..What’s your TQ?
Page 4……………..TQ testt
bright side—in psychological terms, a positive
Page 5……………..Classified Ads
appraisal. So although the illness I just had
was absolutely terrible, at least it’s over! And
Contact/Feedback: [email protected]
how great would it be if I was better able to
www.DrJohnPellitteri.Com
enjoy my days when I think, “at least I’m not
home in bed with the stomach flu!” Hope
Archived Newsletters on Website
you’re well! Thanks also to
all my family and friends
TO BE REMOVED FROM THIS NEWSLETTER:
with their nice texts and
If you are receiving my newsletter against your will—all messages!
you need to do is let me know and I will delete you forever!
I certainly apologize!
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March, 2012
Volume 2, Issue 3
Continuing Training and me
Maybe I have a touch of attention-deficit disorder. Maybe a
good hard slap of it. When I was younger, the worst
thought I had about a career is being forced to wake up everyday, put on a tie, and sit a desk for eight hours. First off,
eight hours sounded like an eternity to me—how can anyone do anything for eight hours straight? As I progressed
through my education, and particularly in my doctorate program, I learned to stretch my day. Seven or eight hours of
school, four or five of internship, and then a couple of hours
of work turned into a 6:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. daily grind.
Although this was very difficult, it did extend my life
throughout the day—that is, when I get off of work at 4:00
p.m. I still feel like I have a lot of time to do other things.
One of the most gratifying parts of my work-life is that balance between different jobs. I am not solely dependent on
one particular endeavor to fulfill my career needs. I have
my private practice, my counseling, and my teaching.
Through each of these avenues, there are different aspects
of the work where I can continue to be intrigued.
In the service of my private practice, I just attended a fiveday training in biofeedback—something I see as an adjunct
to my neurofeedback. My take on all training and seminars
nowadays is that if I can take just one thing from it, it’s
worth my time and money. This particular training gave me
several interesting ideas and areas for further study.
One particular thing I learned was about heart-rate variability. We did a lab assignment where we found our optimum
“resonant” frequency—that is, the best breath rate to match
your heart rate. It seems that our hearts are programmed to
best perform at a certain breath rate, usually between five
and seven breaths per minute. By measuring where your
heart best responds in different breath rates, you can see
which rate is your optimum rate. It turns out my breath rate
is 5.5 breaths per minute. It was fascinating to see that
when measured at 6 breaths per minute and 5 breaths per
minute, my heart didn’t respond anywhere near the 5.5 level. So funny how half a breath makes.
I’ve been training myself to breath at this rate, and am attempting to lower my blood pressure, which is one of the
benefits of this training, among others. I would like to get
off this high blood-pressure medication I have been taking
for years, and the technique looks promising. Fore exam2
ple, I took my blood pressure in the morning
and was 143/91—too high (a good blood pressure is 120/80). I’ve been higher; when I was
off of medication, I think my record was
191/119, which is so high one should probably be hospitalized before they pop like a water balloon in the summer sun. I sat in a chair,
and did my breathing at my resonant frequency for several minutes, and retook my BP. It
went down to 125/85. I was pretty amazed,
and took it three more times to see if it was
stable over about half an hour, and it was.
I will continue to work on this training, and
see if I can start to titrate off my medication
(for legal reasons, I’ll say I’m going to consult
a physician). I’ll keep you posted on the progress.
Once I can afford the sensors I need (they are
about $1250) I would be happy to practice on
you and help you identify your optimum resonant breath frequency. Let me know if you’re
interested.
One other aspect of continuing training I enjoy at the professional level is that you get
such concentrated classes. A “Carnegie Unit”
- or the basis of a class unit which comes from
a somewhat arbitrary notion - is the amount of
time one has to put in for a “credit.” At Mt.
SAC, 18 hours gets you a unit. Through this
professional class, I get 45 hours of instruction
in five days, almost equivalent to a full class
in a few days. Although these are rough days,
it is worth it for my schedule...perhaps for
yours, too, in the future!
March, 2012
Volume 2, Issue 3
What’s Your “TQ”?
Intelligence Quotient, or “IQ” is a measure of your mental age divided by your chronological age; this gives us
a brief index (sometimes erroneous) of your overall level of cognitive functioning. One’s “EQ,” or Emotional
Intelligence,” is a measure of one’s ability to reason and manage emotions. Salovey and Mayer (1990) propose
four factors: perceiving emotions, reasoning with emotions, understanding emotions, and managing emotions.
Along these lines, I would propose that we are beginning to see another type of intelligence emerge—namely,
one’s “Technology Quotient.” This might have several factors as well: Ability to understand technologies, ability to extract needed and desired rewards from technologies, and ability to communicate and enhance relationships with technologies. Let’s take a look at each one of these.
1) Ability to understand technologies.
Are you the type of person who rips open the package and starts to play with the new gadget? Or perhaps you
read the manual thoroughly from cover to cover before starting. Or maybe you are frightened of it and give up
in frustration when it doesn’t work right away. I think that our culture is progressing toward many shared terms
and concepts, such as “cut-and-paste” and “save” and “open” - these terms are used by most computer programs
such that they are no longer proprietary, but conceptual in how we see technology. The days of learning a completely new language are dwindling—however, one with a high “TQ” would be able to look at a new computer
program, phone, or other device and translate what that particular technology needs insofar as making it work.
My iPhone, for example, needs me to slide my finger across the screen to the next, while my Word document
wants me to use the slider...same concept, but different “languages.”
2) Ability to extract rewards from the technology.
Many of our day-to-day devices can do much more than we ask of them. With the number of programs and applications, the number of things we can do is almost infinite. A person with a high TQ would be able to utilize
the most necessary functions of the devices they use—that is, a business person who can print a receipt from the
phone, and the truck driver who can adjust their GPS so as to miss a traffic jam is utilizing their technology to
enhance their lives. An individual with a low TQ might spend an hour going to the bank, waiting in line, when
they might have the capability through their computer to do the same procedure automatically, if they could but
extract that functionality from it.
3) Ability to communicate and enhance relationships.
Being available to the people you want to hear from in a time
frame you have designated is another example of TQ. A
whole text language is emerging, within the constraints of
technology and practicality, and those with a high TQ are
responding in ways that are and accurate in regard to information and emotion. Conveying your thoughts and feelings
is a developing skill—those with lower TQ’s miss information—both because they can’t access it in a timely manner
and because they may not be able to decode nuances in the
medium. Many relationships are begun online now, and the
ability to present yourself accurately and interpret others is a
challenge and skill.
Increasing your TQ can make your life easier and more connected. Some people find this burdensome, however, and the thought of learning new ways of doing things is daunting and scary. Which one are you? Challenge
yourself to add a new communication channel or learn3an app that can help you save time!
March, 2012
Volume 2, Issue 3
Technology Quotient Test
Circle one of the following
1. I am reachable by cell phone
2. If someone emails me, I get back to them the same day
3. I use text
4. I read a user’s manual before installing a new program
5. I email myself a document to save it for later
6. I have changed my email address
7. I have several email addresses that route to one address
8. I write letters the “old-fashioned” way (paper and pencil)
9. I can program a DVR to record a program
10. I have a smart phone
11. People tell me they sent me a message I didn’t get
12. I backup my files
13. I can scan a picture and forward it to someone
14. I know what version iPad is currently out
15. I know when it is appropriate to check my phone
Frequently
Frequently
Frequently
Frequently
Frequently
Frequently
Yes
Frequently
Yes
Yes
Frequently
Frequently
Yes
Yes
Yes
Often
Often
Often
Often
Often
Often
Sometimes
Sometimes
Sometimes
Sometimes
Sometimes
Sometimes
No
Often Sometimes
No
No
Often Sometimes
Often Sometimes
No
No
No
Neve r
Never
Never
Never
Never
Never
Never
Never
Never
Scoring:
Score +3 for “Frequently” on questions 1,2,3
Score +1 for “Yes” on questions 7,9,10,13,14,15
Score –1 for “Sometimes” on questions 1,2,3,4,6,11
Score –2 for “Never” on questions 1,2,3,5,12
Score 0 for question 8, because it doesn’t matter
10-14 Tech savvy genius—text your mom and tell her she should be proud...unless she has a low TQ...
7-10 Work to do! Catch up or be left behind!
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New Section of Newsletter!
Free Neurofeedback Assessment
Have a service or announcement
you’d like to make? Let me know!
All appropriate ads will be included—I make no guarantees in regard
to the ads that are placed...it’s like a
bathroom wall! Well...maybe not
like that, but you get the idea.
I am currently offering a free assessment using our
Quick-Q program to illuminate potential brain-based
issues. Assessments are done primarily on Friday
mornings at my office in Claremont, and take about
20 minutes. For more information or to be put on
waiting list, contact me at [email protected]
Podcast
Interested in hearing our podcast goodness? We are currently exploring ways for you to
download the mp3 file. Let me know if you are interested...we’d love your feedback.
Now on episode 5 with special guest!
John Pellitteri (Psychologist)
Doug Evans (Everyman)
DISCUSSION FORUM!
We now have a forum through Google Groups!
This will be a place to discuss psychological issues
and ask and answer questions. To be invited to
this list, you must send an email to our Forum
Manager: Heather Lopez at
[email protected] or me at
[email protected]
She will “invite” you, and you can then adjust your
Warning: Do Not Go to TALKTOTHEDEADONLINE.COM and whatever you
do, don’t click on one of the banner ads. And don’t think of a monkey!
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